Departments and Agencies, as well as members of the wider community, have been invited to lodge submissions on the Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) published by Work Safe Australia on possible changes to workplace exposure standards.
Safe Work Australia said the RIS aimed to determine the impact of, and best way to implement, an update to Australia’s workplace exposure standard framework.
“The consultation RIS integrates the outcomes from the public discussion paper, The Role of Chemical Exposure Standards in Work Health and Safety Laws (2015) and the Business Survey on Workplace Exposure Standards (2017),” Safe Work Australia said.
“It discovers how well the current system works and identifies improvements to the existing workplace exposure standard framework.”
It said the RIS also explored whether the workplace exposure standards should remain legally enforceable under the model work health and safety laws, or become advisory standards for duty holders to keep aware of.
It said it had prepared the RIS to assist Work Health and Safety Ministers determine the impact of, and best way to implement, an update to the workplace exposure standards.
“This is so the workplace exposure standards will reflect current scientific knowledge and will adequately protect workers from adverse health effects resulting from exposure to airborne hazardous chemicals,” it said.
The consultation period will close on 13 September and the 90-page consultation RIS can be accessed at this PS News link.
